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8/3/11, 1/3/10 and 26/2/09 were the last three release dates for post transfer window patches, the Valentine's Day one was indeed FM08

Ah, happy days. I've often been known for my unusual levels of FM08 love but I actually think FM10 is now my favourite of all time!

Perhaps FM12 will take its place in time? Well, you never know. I can say that I am at least enjoying it very much and it seems so more and more each time I play it. Having a lot of fun with my Mezzocorona team at the moment with the magic of Luca Righini in midfield and the goalscoring of Andrea Mandorlini. Sometimes I think it just takes a good save with some decent narrative and some players you can get attached to in order to get you to fall in love with a new FM. You'll know what I'm talking about Dafuge. I'm sure there are some FMs that live long in your heart after one of your epic saves!

Originally Posted by AcidBurn

It's not too bad in there the most annoying threads are the steam ones and people claiming the game is scripted and fixed. In my opinion there are very rarely any threads that bring about a good discussion.

Sounds about the same as it always was then AB. Apart from the good old days when the likes of you and I were posting and fighting the good fight!

Get started on the England one I think we would all really enjoy it.

Cheers AB. I had a lot of fun on FM10 with my Fabio Crouchello save. Quite a nice save to run alongside a proper career, like my latest calcio one, as you can pick it up now and then, and play a game here and there, as something interesting on the side. I got really into that Fabio Crouchello save, especially trying to win the World Cup and coming so close. Plenty of ups and downs!

Scholes retired altogether at the end of last season but he made a surprise comeback for United in the FA Cup win at Manchester City on 8 January and he has since appeared in every match for the club, winning praise for his performances. Redknapp would now like to see him go back on another retirement decision.

"Let's be honest, you would love to have Paul Scholes in the Euros this year," he said. "He'd be in your team, he's that good. Whoever's there would love to take him, I'm sure. You'd love him to play. He plays like the Spaniards, like Xavi [Hernández] or [Andrés] Iniesta. He does not give the ball away."

...

It was put to Redknapp that Scott Parker, his midfield general at Tottenham, could make an England captain, which he agreed with, but it sounded as though Gerrard would be his preference.

"I think there are some good candidates," Redknapp said. "Gerrard is a good candidate. Stevie Gerrard is a fantastic player. There are one or two who could do it. Scottie could do it, for sure, but so could Steve."

"That George Best, 'e was a t'riffic player. I'd definitely ask him to reconsider his death and come back into the England squad. What? He's Northern Irish? Well as I said 'es a t'riffic player but I don't like to talk about other team's players, we'll see if the chairman can do a deal."

I actually could have thumped him one when he was yammering on about the Demba Ba release clause in January. "I don't know what the clause is, people keep saying different numbers." No, melty-face, the only one talking about it is you.

And AB, I'm finally back on. That password reminder thing seemed to do the trick. At first it didn't work but it randomly loaded up when I reset my browser. Thanks for your help! Now I can waste my time on the forums again rather than being productive!

Very interesting. Also opens the question: if the MLS continues to increase in quality and prestige, will we eventually see quality English players start to move over there? I think the main barrier to them moving abroad currently is a bit of a fear of the cultural difference and obviously the language. If there's the opportunity to move to a reputable league that pays well and is in a country with a familiar culture and language, would more of them take it?

Very interesting. Also opens the question: if the MLS continues to increase in quality and prestige, will we eventually see quality English players start to move over there? I think the main barrier to them moving abroad currently is a bit of a fear of the cultural difference and obviously the language. If there's the opportunity to move to a reputable league that pays well and is in a country with a familiar culture and language, would more of them take it?

I think you could be right, I know he is hardly world class but David Bentley has been talking about a loan move to the MLS recently. I think they could attract more English players now from Championship level if they could offer more money. I wonder how much the MLS will eventually increase the salary cap to.

Very interesting. Also opens the question: if the MLS continues to increase in quality and prestige, will we eventually see quality English players start to move over there? I think the main barrier to them moving abroad currently is a bit of a fear of the cultural difference and obviously the language. If there's the opportunity to move to a reputable league that pays well and is in a country with a familiar culture and language, would more of them take it?

My guess is anyone coming from the "big five" leagues will be someone either near the end of his career, or looking to get his career back on track. I get what you're saying about a familiar culture and language, but you don't see a lot of quality English players heading to the other top leagues.

It may be possible that you could see more if the debt crisis swallows more countries, or HMRC really starts cracking down on British clubs.

Originally Posted by AcidBurn

I think you could be right, I know he is hardly world class but David Bentley has been talking about a loan move to the MLS recently. I think they could attract more English players now from Championship level if they could offer more money. I wonder how much the MLS will eventually increase the salary cap to.

Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement with the players union, there is an annual 5% increase in the cap. That's in effect for the duration of the CBA, which runs through 2014.

That said, MLS technically doesn't have a salary cap. They've always called it a "salary budget," which gives them some wiggle room (partly because there are mechanisms like allocation dollars that let you buy down a cap charge for a player). You can't spend like Man City, but if you're a couple hundred thousand dollars over, you're not going to get your knuckles rapped.

One issue though is that when the CBA was agreed, MLS said that only Seattle and Toronto were profitable. Even teams with their own stadiums like LA and Columbus were in the red. That was before Red Bulls moved out of Giants Stadium though, and I remember a few years earlier that the rent was so enormous (I think it was in the neighborhood of $250,000 per game), that the league as a whole would be in the red, even if every team bar New York was in their own stadium.

MLS gets players from South America largely because they're willing to come to the league at a cost lower than say getting a veteran European player from a top tier league with a DP price tag. Acquiring players from South American countries. TFC acquiried a couple Chilean defenders, one who got capped in a friendly against Canada. We also got a Bermudan international winger of Ipswich and hes only 20.Theres also partnerships between MLS and big teams like Spurs and San Jose (and the Quakes got a good winger in Simon Dawkins) and LA Galaxy and Sao Paulo (juninho). We're going to get our fair share of players who are on the fringes of the first team and looking for a final big paycheque but there are a lot of quality young players from other nations which will only help young Canadian and American players and push them to be better.

MLS gets players from South America largely because they're willing to come to the league at a cost lower than say getting a veteran European player from a top tier league with a DP price tag. Acquiring players from South American countries. TFC acquiried a couple Chilean defenders, one who got capped in a friendly against Canada. We also got a Bermudan international winger of Ipswich and hes only 20.Theres also partnerships between MLS and big teams like Spurs and San Jose (and the Quakes got a good winger in Simon Dawkins) and LA Galaxy and Sao Paulo (juninho). We're going to get our fair share of players who are on the fringes of the first team and looking for a final big paycheque but there are a lot of quality young players from other nations which will only help young Canadian and American players and push them to be better.

There is that, sure. But I think the league is also looking at internationals from the smaller European nations (like Joel Lindpere for New York - although he almost immediately retired from the Estonia national team after signing - and Branko Boskovic and Hamdi Salihi for DC United, although those guys came with DP tags unlike Lindpere). The league isn't going to have the coin or cachet for a national team player with a big international side (John Terry or Carles Puyol, to pull 2 random names), but the guys with the second- or third-tier European NTs are still relatively affordable.

One other consideration is the changes to the DP rule. They structured it with the idea of scooping up players aging out of their U20 or U23 national teams.

Mind you, Fox has lost its rights to MLS matches. The league jumped to the new NBC Sports Network (previously called Versus) starting with this season. I suppose it's possible Fox went to FIFA before MLS changed rights-partners, otherwise this is just batshit crazy.

Mind you, Fox has lost its rights to MLS matches. The league jumped to the new NBC Sports Network (previously called Versus) starting with this season. I suppose it's possible Fox went to FIFA before MLS changed rights-partners, otherwise this is just batshit crazy.

Thinking about it, it might make sense for MLS to go Apertura/Clausura style. Break in the summer where it's too hot in the south, break in the winter when it's too hot in the north. Also means no problems with players missing league games for international tournaments, which will likely be more of a problem as the league grows in stature.

I remember desperately trying to find a copy of this, but failing. Yes, I was an NME kid.

So was I. Tragic!

It was a bonus extra on a compilation of their singles, if I recall correctly.

They always used to play it at live shows, I remember, and it always seemed amazing. I used to love the Super Furry Animals at one point. Hadn't listened to that song in years and years, and I was actually surprised when it popped up on shuffle as I didn't even remember that I had it!

I have only a very small fraction of my music on my phone though so not an accurate reflection of all the rubbish I've had since I was a teenager I'll do it again on my desktop when I'm on there, should be far more embarrassing!

Myles Kennedy is awesome! Such a good singer and a great guitarist as well.

Toys cannot hold protest because they are not citizens of Russia, officials rule

There hadn't been many – indeed any – rallies like it before in Russia. Last month saw dozens of toys, from teddy bears to Lego figurines, standing out in the snow of a Siberian city with banners complaining about corruption and electoral malpractice.

At the time, Russian authorities in Barnaul declared the protest "an unsanctioned public event".

Now a petition to hold another protest featuring 100 Kinder Surprise toys, 100 Lego people, 20 model soldiers, 15 soft toys and 10 toy cars has been rejected because the toys have been deemed not to be "citizens of Russia".

"As you understand, toys, especially imported toys, are not only not citizens of Russia but they are not even people," Andrei Lyapunov, a spokesman for Barnaul, told local media.

At the last rally, baffled police did not know what to do with the toys, which held up banners with the words: "I'm for clean elections," and "A thief should sit in jail, not in the Kremlin." After taking photographs and video of the plastic offenders, they asked prosecutors to investigate its legality.

The number of people, and their toys, wanting to take part has risen dramatically since then.

"It probably wouldn't be that popular if the reaction of the authorities hadn't been so harsh and absurd," said the activist Lyudmila Alexandrovna.

Authorities though are not willing to back down.

"It is possible that the people who have applied are inspired by their toys … and consider them their friends but the law unfortunately has a different point of view," said Lyapunov. "Neither toys nor, for example, flags, plates or domestic appliances can take part in a meeting."

The response to the original ban is typical of the new wave of demonstrations in Russia characterised by witty banners and a degree of absurdist humour. After a mass Moscow rally in December, the protest was re-enacted with Lego models and posted on YouTube within days. Toy rallies have caught on and taken place in four other Russian towns in the wake of the Barnaul protest.

Despite the ban, the group says it will look for another way.

One possibility, said the activist Sergei Andreev, is a solitary picket, which is allowed to take place without permission from local authorities under Russian law.

"We will stand up one [toy] and the rest will sit on a bench not far away," said Andreev.

I get that it's a joke, but for all the faults with the soviet system, they had technology that was pretty damn advanced, more advanced than in the West in its heyday. They were the first to get a man into space for example.

Obviously they lagged behind in other domains due to the authoritarian political system, but they have always been at the forefront when it comes to technology and industrialisation.

As for the song thing, I don't have the greatest collection the laptop, but I'll give it a go nonetheless.

Actually that sums me up really well. Snow Patrol and Coldplay are by far the 2 best bands I listen to and Oasis comes a close 3rd although I don't have them on my iTunes, same as Foo Fighters. Take That have done some great songs and although I have very little of Nickelback, about 3 songs How You Remind Me is a quality tune.

Actually that sums me up really well. Snow Patrol and Coldplay are by far the 2 best bands I listen to and Oasis comes a close 3rd although I don't have them on my iTunes, same as Foo Fighters. Take That have done some great songs and although I have very little of Nickelback, about 3 songs How You Remind Me is a quality tune.